A medley of whites, beiges and blues in the most comfortable silhouettes you can imagine make up Badaam’s Spring/Summer 2019 collection. India-born Priyanka Kaul launched her clothing label in 2017 after studying and working in the Sydney fashion industry for almost a decade. For Kaul (29), the idea was to dress creatives who shared her belief in slow fashion. We caught up with her to find out more.
ELLE: Why the name Badaam?
Priyanka Kaul: Badaam is a big part of Indian culture; there are references to almonds in cooking, movies and even hair and skincare. For me, Badaam represents the organic nature of my label, balance and shape, and the inclusion of almond skin.
ELLE: Tell us more about Dhyaan, your S/S 2019 collection.
PK: The inspiration came from observations of friends and creatives (like me) who have developed ways of dealing with the anxiety and pressures of living in a migrant society. The garments (with face illustrations) were a reflection of two things: the many faces judging us, and the desire to become faceless, and sometimes genderless in a biased society. For the colour palette, I wanted to reflect what people see during summer, which are blue skies and floral hues.
ELLE: How would you describe the brand aesthetic?
PK: My clothing could be described as nostalgic Indo-Western, carrying both structure and quirkiness. I use natural fabrics such as Chanderi silk, khadi cotton and Muga silk. My muses are designed objects like architecture, ceramic or artwork. Other muses are architects, artists and politicians from the ’60s and ’80s.
ELLE: What’s next?
PK: I am hoping to explore new fabrics such as wool and remnant materials from my previous collections. I am looking to add more complexity to structure and possibly play with embroidery and print a bit more.
